


Resurrected

by CWMaddy



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Bittersweet, Character Study-ish, Dark, Eddie Thawne Lives, F/M, It's just dark okay?, NOT Season 2 Canon Compliant, Possible mentions of PTSD?, Slow Build, Trigger warning for self worth issues, ressurection, some elements will probably never happen in the show
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-05
Updated: 2016-05-08
Packaged: 2018-03-21 08:25:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3685161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CWMaddy/pseuds/CWMaddy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eobard Thawne killed Tess Morgan, and stole the identity of Harrison Wells, killing him in the process. Now that Eobard is gone, Team Flash feels that it's only right to bring back the real Harrison after his life was viscously ripped away from him for selfish reasons. Good intentions, absolutely. Good idea, probably not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Guilty Silence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, listen to the song "What Have You Done?" By Plan Three while you read this. No joke, it is a feels overload. I think that song can describe this pretty well. Like I said, sort of but not at all a songfic.

Silence. Not the comfortable, welcomed, much needed silence that settles around a group of people after a cheery conversation, but a silence that burns. It burned the ears of everyone in the room, causing them to be antsy and shift in place, make them weary and unhappy. The silence was deafening, it was so loud. It enveloped S.T.A.R. Labs, pressing down and practically crushing its inhabitants. 

It was all because of one man. A mentor, a role model, a genius, a scientist, a father figure. A liar, a cheat, a murderer. Harrison Wells. Or is it, Eobard Thawne now? It was still difficult to comprehend for Cisco, Caitlin, and Barry, knowing that they had never really known Harrison Wells at all. No one had actually, because when he was alive- really truly alive and not just a shell hiding a mad man/speedster- he wasn't famous. Nor was he infamous. He wasn't known. All Harrison Wells was, before his tragic, unknown death, was a genius with a dream. But then Eobard Thawne came along. 

Barry had thought that Eobard Thawne, The Reverse Flash, had only ruined his life. He killed his mother and framed his father, what else could be worse than that? He hadn't even stopped to think about who else Eobard had forcefully gone through to get to where he was. But now, he had a long list of names. The Allen Family, Simon Stagg, Mason Bridge, Hartley Rathaway, Cisco Ramon, Ronnie Raymond, Caitlin Snow. Add two more to that list: Tess Morgan, and Harrison Wells. Half of the people on the list were dead, killed by the man himself, Eobard. The others either suffered the consequences, or barely escaped death. Barry had saved Cisco, Barry had saved Caitlin, Barry had helped Ronnie. Barry didn't -couldn't- save Stagg, his mom, or Bridge though. He couldn't save the real Harrison, and he couldn't save Tess Morgan either. 

'You can't save everybody.' Barry told himself. But that didn't stop him from walking around with a heavy heart of guilt that didn't belong to him. No, it was Thawne's guilt. It was obvious that Eobard didn't feel anything, not remorse, not sadness, and especially not guilt. All he felt was rage, anger, and compassion of the wrong kind. The evil kind. But since Thawne didn't want to be guilty, no villain does, the feeling was passed onto the hero. Barry. And everyone in the room knew it. 

Cisco, Joe, Caitlin, and Barry all sat at S.T.A.R. Labs, a scientific research facility thought up by an in-love couple 15 years ago, but was stolen and morphed into a sick and twisted pile of lies by a killer. He'd had everyone fooled. And even though he didn't fool some for long, he still had them under his boot, even for a brief moment. It wasn't much, but it was enough to build a reputation and a trust bond with many. They all sat in excruciating silence, and were all thinking about the same thing. They'd won. But they'd lost so much in the process. 

They'd lost hope, happiness, innocence. Good memories with Harrison Wells were replaced with a mirror image of the events, just a screaming voice shouting "LIES!" in the background. Ideas for the future of S.T.A.R. Labs- and it making a beautiful comeback were slapped back in all of their faces, with a side of hysterical laughing and the teasing voice of Eobard calling "Tricked you!" 

And the worst of all. Barry had killed somebody. 

Everyone told Barry that he wasn't a killer, he was a hero. Joe, Oliver, Felicity, Eobard. They all said he could bring hope to Central City by using his powers for good. But where was that hope now? The invisible blood on Barry's hands was a bright, crimson red. It was a stark contrast to the yellow lightning bolt emblem on his suit, the signature that was supposed to signify ambition for the good of the city. But it was all different now, and Barry felt it the most. 

He had to do it, they told him. He was going to die if he didn't. That fact didn't help him get over the knowledge that he killed a human being, speedster or not. He might have been doing it for his own and everyone else's safety, and it might have been an accident, and he might have just saved tons of innocent lives by killing a villain, but that didn't ease the pain. He killed Eobard, but it looked like Harrison Wells, and Harrison was an innocent, good man. He killed an identity thief wearing Wells' face, but to Barry it felt as if he was killing a merit man. 

Even though it was Eobard dying, even though it was him falling off the cliff and falling to his death, it looked like Harrison. Barry saw the emotional mask that Eobard had used lift for a split yet agonizingly long second, he saw the fear and knowledge of death on Harrison's face. He didn't see Eobard's face, but Harrison's. He heard the sickening crunch Eobard in Harrison's body made when coming to meet with the ground, and he saw what looked like Harrison's limbs all at odd angles when he glanced over the edge exhaustedly. He checked for a pulse, but found nothing. He saw no light in Harrison's eyes that Eobard stole, instead he saw glassy and dead pupils. It made Barry sick. 

It wasn't his fault, they told him. He did what he had to do. It was the only option. The right choice isn't always easy. He'd heard it already, seen it in movies and now experienced it in real life. But what no one ever told him, what movies never taught him, was the feeling of pure self-hatred that followed. 

So they sat. All staring at something other than each other, no one dared to meet anyone else's eyes. They didn't speak, or smile, or rejoice, or discuss. They sat. And silence ruled.


	2. The Power of the Dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hate me for this chapter. I told you that it would be sort of AU, and that some elements will probably never happen in the show. I hope you heeded my warnings. I suggest you listen to the song Blink by Revive while reading this.

A week later, The Flash hadn't been seen anywhere around the city. No one seemed to need saving. There were no new Metahumans, and no Flash worthy crimes. Sure, there were still homicides, but that was a job for the police. It was a job for Barry Allen. Not The Flash. No one had seen "Harrison Wells" around either. Not many people noticed the man's absence over the missing Flash, but a few people did. Iris noticed, that girl at Jitter's noticed, Eddie noticed because Joe and Barry stopped coming to him for help on investigating Wells. They'd all asked one person. Barry. 

"Haven't seen wheels- I mean Wells around in a bit." Iris said. Barry shrugged, chuckling half heartedly at Iris's slip up.

"Where is that scientist anyways?" The waitress at Jitter's had commented absentmindedly, as if it was a simple thought. Barry smiled thoughtfully and said he didn't know.

"Barry, what's going on? What happened to 'Harrison is not to be trusted, we must stop him and need help to do it'?" Eddie's question was what finally cracked the speedster. 

Eddie had asked at the precinct, while Barry was waiting for a new blood analysis to come in. No one had told Eddie that Barry killed Harrison, or Eobard it seemed, because Barry had begged them not too. Not asked, begged. He said Eddie already thought The Flash was a menace before he knew it was Barry in the suit, and knowing that he actually took a life would send Eddie over the edge. So Eddie was back to being oblivious. Well, as oblivious as a cop who knows the secret identity of The Flash could get. 

That whole week Barry had been fidgety. It didn't go unnoticed, but those who didn't know didn't ask, and those who knew didn't have too. But every now and then, the over curious people mentioned the disappearance of a certain infamous scientist, and although he tried to hide it, Barry minded. A lot. He still blamed himself, the death of Eobard plagued his dreams every night. So when Eddie asked, Barry practically threw everything down and shot up out of his seat, taking his jacket off of the back of the chair, mumbling something about an early lunch break as he stormed out of the precinct. 

As he ran for the first time in a week, flash suit and all, Barry felt a mix of emotions. He was angry, upset, ashamed, confused. He didn't understand why Eobard had lied, but he did at the same time. He hated himself for pushing, accidentally or not, Eobard off that cliff that night, even if it was "for everyone's safety and the right thing to do". Barry ran all around Central City, through alleys and past parked cars, shattering windows as he went. That's another thing Barry thought about, besides causing death, he also caused a lot of destruction. Lots of broken glass. Oops. As he ran, Barry couldn't help but recall all of the warnings he'd gotten, but payed no mind to. 

"This man will turn on you in a flash," Hartley said. And everyone thought that he was just a genius with a grudge. 

"Don't let him take anymore," Barry's dad said. And Barry let Eobard take away his clean slate of no deaths. 

"There's something not right about that guy," Oliver had told Felicity, who had told Barry. And Barry ignored it. 

It was amazing how much power Eobard had over Barry, even in death. It just didn't seem possible, how much stress Barry put on himself because he needed to protect the lives of thousands. Especially since half of that multiplied in the last few days. And although Barry was breaking down, he didn't let it affect anything past his personal thoughts of himself. He didn't take his frustrations out on anyone around him. Not Cisco, not Caitlin, not Joe, not Iris. He just ran. And for a brief moment, a mere few minutes, Barry felt free. 

Everything felt okay when he ran. He forgot his troubles, his worries, his stress. All he remembered was his happiest memories, and all he knew was the wind on his face and the ground beneath his feet. But then reality came snapping back when he heard a scream from a nearby alley. Skidding to a stop right at the corner, he peeked his head around the wall to see what was going on. 

A crying woman sat on the ground with a man's head in her lap. The man lay unmoving, and had a gaping bullet hole in his chest that was no longer bleeding. The man was dead. Great, more death! Just what Barry needed! Note the sarcasm. 

"Stay away!" The woman cried out, and that was when Barry noticed another woman slowly approaching the two. 

"Calm down. I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to help," the woman tried to reason. Her hands were outstretched in a surrendering motion, signaling she meant no harm. Her back was to Barry, but she seemed familiar. Her voice sounded like that of someone he knew, and her hair looked familiar, but Barry couldn't put his finger on it.

"How? He's dead!" The crying woman snarled. 

"I can bring him back," the other woman answered, and Barry's eyebrows raised in interest. "Just let me help you," 

The crying woman hesitated, thinking whether it was a good idea, and she glanced at the man's dead body once before making up her mind. "Do it. Now!" The woman demanded, and the other crouched down to rest on her knees in front of the dead man. 

She rested her hands on his chest lightly, and Barry assumed she closed her eyes because it just seemed like one of those cliché movie moments that would happen. After a few seconds, light emitted from underneath the woman's hands. It was bright white and if it wasn't snuffed by being sandwiched in between her hands and his body, it would probably have been blinding. When the light subsided and the woman removed her hands, the man shot up, gasping awake. 

"You're alive!" The crying woman exclaimed, hugging the man joyfully, which he returned. 

After their embrace, the man pulled back and checked for a bullet wound. There was nothing but a little blood on his shirt. Barry was astonished. 

"Thank you," the man said breathlessly to the woman. She nodded, and stood up. 

The woman who was now obviously a metahuman, a good one it seemed too (finally), turned around. It took all of Barry's strength not to call out her name in surprise when he saw her face. It was Linda Park. He ran away before she noticed his eavesdropping, speeding back to the precinct. As he ran back, his hope was restored. He suddenly had an idea. He knew what he could do to make the guilt go away.

Barry was going to bring Harrison Wells, the real Harrison Wells, back to life.


	3. Their Little Secret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the last were much lighter than chapter one, that much is obvious. But prepare, the angst is returning next chapter! Also, this will always be in third person limited, but the thoughts and feelings will transition between Barry, Linda, and Harrison. I suggest you listen to the song "Secrets" by OneRepublic while reading this.

(Three Weeks Earlier)

When Mason Bridge disappeared or, moved to Brazil or whatever crap Eddie Thawne came up with and told Iris West, Linda was reassigned to be Iris's partner. It was awkward at first, having to constantly be around her ex-boyfriend's best friend who she knew Barry was still in love with. But eventually, they actually became really good friends. They had a lot more in common than just Barry, surprisingly enough. 

So when they were at some ceremony for yet another rich person getting some stupid award that they had to write about, they whispered to each other and gossiped like long lost friends. They probably should've been paying attention, it was their job to write an article about this after all. But they really weren't. At least, not until the award speech, when everything went haywire. Iris and Linda knew that people could get angry over people winning awards that they didn't deserve. It was common. They might hate on said individuals on social media, or go up to them and try to attack them, but they didn't expect this. They didn't expect to get caught up in an armed hostage situation. 

He hadn't even been able to start his speech, him being the man that Iris and Linda didn't remember the name of receiving the award, when someone shot three bullets into the air. Everyone screamed, ducking down as a man in a suit stomped up to the stage and shot the other man receiving the award dead. He grabbed the microphone with one fist and screamed something along the lines "No one move! Everyone quiet!" It wasn't clear because his face was too close to the device he was yelling into. 

Everyone was silent immediately. But that wasn't enough for the crazy man who had interrupted the ceremony, because he jumped off of the stage and grabbed a random audience member by the collar of their tuxedo, and shot him right in the head. Linda covered her mouth to hide a gasp of horror, fearful that a sound would set this man off and she would be his next victim. The man looked around at the faces of disgust and utter fear. He smiled. 

'Sick son of a bi-' Linda's thoughts were cut off when the man this time grabbed Iris. Iris struggled, and tears cascaded down her face as Linda screamed in protest. 

"No! Iris!" Linda tried to grab Iris, but other hostages held her back. They didn't want Iris to die, but they didn't want to die themselves either. They all thought that it was better her than them. 

Where were the bodyguards surrounding the building? Had this man killed them without anyone noticing? Where were the police? Where was The Flash? Linda swore to herself that if The Flash didn't save Iris, she would personally track him down and kill him. Iris broke free of the man's grasp by elbowing him in the nose, thinking how no one should ever underestimate a cop's daughter, and ran. But, she couldn't run very fast in heels, and didn't have time to take them off in her mad dash to get to safety. So just as the man shot aimlessly at Iris, clutching his broken nose, Iris had time to question herself how she always got stuck in these situations before she was zipped away to safety by the Scarlett Speedster of Central City. 

Linda thought too soon. When Iris was running, and then disappeared in a gust of wind, Linda berated herself for being so stupid. The Flash would never let anyone die if he could help it. He was a hero! The Flash came back and knocked out the still unnamed psycho that had started all of this, then looked around searching for injured civilians. He noticed Linda, crumpled on the floor with mascara running down her face, and rushed over to her. 

He vibrated his face even though he was wearing a mask, and vibrated his vocal cords Linda guessed when he asked, "Are you alright?" She couldn't see him clearly, but she could see the worry in his eyes. 

Linda nodded, and stuttered out, "Iris. W-where is she?" The Flash smiled, and Linda felt wind slap her hair in all directions including into her face. Everything around her was blur of colors, and Linda felt weightless, if not a bit sick before it all stopped abruptly. 

When Linda was back on her feet, The Flash was gone and Iris was right across from her sitting on a bench, clutching her arm. Linda rushed over to her friend, relief and worry flooding through her.

"Iris! Are you alright?" She asked hurriedly, noticing the clear pain on Iris's face. "Did he hit you?" 

Iris removed her hand from her arm, and there was blood on her fingers. There was no bullet hole though. Linda guessed The Flash was too rushed to notice Iris's injury. 

"The bullet just grazed me I suppose," Iris said, wincing in pain.  
"It's better than dying," Linda tried to lighten the mood, and was grateful to see that Iris smiled and lightly laughed. "We should probably get you to the hospital," Linda helped Iris stand, and wrapped her hand around the wound to slow the bleeding. 

What neither woman expected was light to come out from Linda's hand. Linda pulled back immediately, fearful of making it worse. The light was gone the moment her hand left Iris's arm, and when they looked, they both noticed that Iris's wound was completely healed. No scar, no blood. No evidence of injury at all. Iris and Linda were flabbergasted. 

"What did you just do?" Iris asked in awe, looking up at her friend. 

"I have no idea," Linda replied, tearing her gaze away from the used-to-be bloody arm of Iris West to meet her eyes. 

They both stared at each other in silence, and people passed by giving them weird looks. It wasn't everyday that you saw two girls in fancy dresses and running mascara standing on the side of a road.

"That was awesome!" Iris exclaimed finally, earning a laugh from Linda. 

"We can't tell anybody though," Linda said, her tone light but the message was deadly serious. Iris nodded. 

"Of course. It'll be something between us only," Iris promised. "By the way, you look like a mess," she laughed. 

Linda laughed too, and shot back playfully with, "You don't look perfect either!" 

Iris and Linda walked to the park, and took off their high heels, being so done with the uncomfortable feeling of them being stuck in the grass. They probably should've been back at their work place, but decided that they deserved the rest of the day off. After all, they were just in a deadly hostage situation. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the days that passed, Linda and Iris kept their new discovery a secret between them only. They were crowded with questions of worry and curiosity when returning to home and work, which they dismissed with the truthful statement of "I'm fine". They were excused from that specific article, their boss deciding it wouldn't be right to make them report about such a traumatic experience. 

Linda learned that she could heal not only others, but herself as well. She found that out when she fell out of her bed one morning and hit her head on her beside table, finding the scrape healed the moment she put her hand to her forehead. And there was light always coming from her hands when her powers were in use. 

Linda also found out that she could raise the dead. That one was more creepy than exciting, to be honest. 

She had been driving to work when she went over a bump on the road. It wasn't a normal bump either. So imagine her horror when she stopped her car and ran out to find that she had run over a dog. She gagged, seeing the poor animal's stomach flattened and crushed with black tire tracks on it. Crouching down, she lightly put both hands on the dog, hoping it wasn't dead and that she could heal it. But it was. She didn't know what to do, and in the middle of her freak out, light once again emitted from her hands. Seconds later, the dog shot up with no injuries, perfectly fine and alive. And Linda had a new dog. 

She didn't tell Iris about that one. But she did say she got a new pet. So what if she didn't tell Iris about that little part of her ability? Iris still knew she had powers. It was still their little secret. Just, now a part of it was just Linda's. 

For now.


	4. Nighttime Strolls Are Often Confidential

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that I'm dragging out this plot for so long. If you're wondering, no, Harrison Wells is not brought back to life in this chapter. You are probably angry with me, thinking that I'm not getting to the point fast enough. I'm really sorry! But, anyways, I suggest you listen to the song "Rush" by Aly and Aj while reading this.

(Present Time) 

Barry hadn't been to S.T.A.R. Labs at all after the death of Eobard. It was all due to the fact that when he was there, and didn't see the man that he thought to be his wheelchair-bound friend, his stomach twisted with something indescribably sickening. He couldn't think straight, cold shivered up his spine, and all he could see was Eobard. All he could see was Harrison. All he could see was death. So when he rushed in at lightning speed the next day, sending papers flying everywhere, Cisco and Caitlin didn't exactly expect it. 

Barry came to a stop in front of Cisco, who was on his computer like always. Cisco squealed like a girl and almost fell out of his chair, and Caitlin dropped her pen with a start and glared at Cisco. They both looked at Barry for a moment, unsure of what to say. They knew he was dealing with something, sadness or anger maybe, but they couldn't exactly understand when Barry didn't tell them. Barry's face was grim, he hadn't smiled in far too long. But even though guilt still prodded at his mind at all times now, a small bit of hope from what he'd recently witnessed kept him from caving in on himself. 

"We have to bring him back," Barry said seriously. Caitlin and Cisco didn't understand since Barry was deciding to play the pronoun game, but Cisco decided to speak first. 

"Bring him back? Bring back the man that almost killed me, almost killed Caitlin, almost killed YOU, and you want to bring him back?" Cisco asked incredulously, an edge of coldness in his tone of voice. 

And there he was again. Barry was instantly brought back to that night. He saw it all again. He could suddenly feel the cold wind tearing at his face, the blood running down his lip and pumping through his veins, rapidly trying to heal his injuries. He could hear Eobard laughing as he crumpled to the ground in pain, and he could see the Reverse Flash approaching him. Neither man was wearing their mask, there was a reason for that but Barry couldn't remember. He did remember though how Eobard lunged for him as he struggled to stand, and he remembered when he dashed to the side just in time. Just in time for Eobard to fall to his death. 

Barry shook his head to clear away the thoughts. "No not him. The real Harrison Wells," Barry answered. 

"And how do you suppose we do that?" Caitlin asked. 

"Linda Park. She's a metahuman, and she can raise the dead," Barry said. 

"Gross man. So not dope," Cisco wrinkled his nose at the thought. Barry guessed that all Cisco could picture were zombies. 

"One, what makes you think she'll do it? Two, what makes you think she can, considering the fact that Wells has been dead for 15 years? And three, are you an idiot? That's a terrible idea!" Caitlin scolded. Barry furrowed his eyebrows. 

"What do you mean? It's perfect! People are getting suspicious of Harrison's disappearance, and this will finally make the guilt go away!" Barry snapped his mouth shut when he saw his friends' pitiful expressions. He hadn't meant to say that last part out loud. 

"Barry, what do you mean? Why are you feeling guilty? We told you, it's not your fault," Cisco said softly. 

"I know. But it doesn't feel that way," Barry replied, equally as soft. 

"Then what does it feel like?" Caitlin asked. 

"It doesn't matter," Barry tried to get out of answering. 

"Tell us," Caitlin demanded. 

Barry sighed defeatedly. He really didn't want to be talking about this right now. He sat in a chair nearby, running his hands through his hair and down his face in an exhausted manner. He had to tell them, he knew that, and he could trust them, he knew that too. Then why wasn't he answering?

"It-it feels awful. Like I'm being strangled and torn apart from the inside out. All I see is that night. When I sleep, or blink, or am in my lab when there is nothing to do and my mind drifts. It never goes away. I know it's only been a week, and I know it isn't my fault. But it is my fault! It is," Barry forced out, his voice cracking at the end.

He hated looks of pity from his friends, or anyone for that matter, so he chose not to look up at them because he knew that's exactly what he would see. So he settled on staring at his beat up converse instead. He heard shuffling, and Caitlin's heels clicking on the floor and coming closer. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder, resting there in what was supposed to be a comforting gesture. It just made him even sicker than he already felt. 

"Maybe you should see a therapist. Talk to somebody," Caitlin suggested. 

Barry laughed bitterly, looking at Caitlin with an expression of doubt. "And what am I supposed to tell them, huh? Do I just go up to someone and say, 'oh, I killed someone and feel guilty! Why is that so?'" 

Caitlin's mouth was a thin line, her face blank but her eyes calculating with an answer that she wasn't telling. Cisco shrunk in his seat, not sure of what to do at this point. He was never good with fights, nor was he good with serious moments. He preferred being cheery and avoiding negative events as much as possible. But, that wasn't always easy considering he was a partner of The Flash, had been kidnapped, was almost killed like....three times, and had his mentor stab him in back. 

Barry sighed again, running a hand over his face for the second time. He was so done with this conversation. "I'm going to go. I have work to do," he lied, standing up and running out without even saying goodbye. 

"I think it's a good idea," Cisco muttered, and Caitlin glared at him. 

"Not helping!" She growled, storming off as well. 

Cisco groaned, letting his head drop onto the desk with a resounding thump. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Linda was taking a walk with her new dog that night. She'd named him Tracks, for obvious and maybe ironic reasons. She didn't exactly have a destination in mind, she just needed time to clear her head. She loved helping people, and in fact, she had been studying to get her PhD in medicine before the particle accelerator explosion. That didn't work out, because when S.T.A.R. Labs blew, she had been injured like many others and decided that being a reporter was the thing for her instead. Maybe it was because of all the adventure that she could experience that a doctor couldn't, or maybe it was because she doubted herself, Linda wasn't sure. But now, as she thought about it, maybe it was because of the fact that she could raise the dead that threw her off. It was a much more plausible reason. 

As she walked, she suddenly felt a gust of wind blow past. Blinking rapidly, her eyes focused on someone half hidden in the shadows. The Flash. And immediately, all she could think was 'he knows. Oh god, he knows.' Fear engulfed Linda, her chest constricted and her eyes blurred slightly. 'What is he going to do to me? He wouldn't do anything bad right? He's a hero!' She thought.

"Linda Park. We have to talk," The Flash said, his voice disguised. 

In a rush, not thinking straight, Linda came up with the lame reply of, "Nope! You have the wrong person. I should be going now, bye!" And she turned on her heels to walk quickly away. But of course, it wasn't easy to outrun The Flash. 

The moment she began walking away, he was in front of her again, blocking her path. Tracks started barking at The Flash, bouncing back and fourth and obviously acting as a protector for his owner. 

"You're different. I know," The Flash started, and Linda shook her head. 

"I don't know what you're talking about. Now if you'd excuse me," Linda tried to walk past him, but The Flash gently grabbed her arms. 

"Linda, I know this may seem scary, but you've been given a great gift. You can help so many people," The Flash reasoned. 

Linda looked down at her hands, studying them, and then at The Flash's masked face. She realized that he wasn't vibrating his face, even though he was extremely close to her. She stared into his emerald green eyes, and suddenly something clicked in her mind. She knew those eyes. She knew them really well.

"Oh no way," she said breathlessly. "Barry? Is that you? Well that would explain... a lot," 

The Flash smiled widely, releasing her arms. "Surprise?" He said, no longer disguising his voice. Linda was right, it was Barry. Tracks barked again, less aggressively though. 

She started shaking her head. This was crazy! How could she not have seen this before? "I'm a reporter! I'm supposed to read in between the lines! All of those times you had walked out on me in the middle of a conversation, or rain checked on a date, how did I not figure it out? Guess I'm not very good at my job," Linda rambled on. "Does Iris know? Did you tell her yet? How is this even possible?! Powers, magic, it just doesn't make sense!" 

Linda was silenced during her rant when she heard Barry's laughter. She stopped, eyes wide in shock, clamping her mouth shut awkwardly and her teeth made an audible 'click' when they touched. Barry was still laughing, and Linda quickly became embarrassed, her face flushing red. There'd never been a time where she was more grateful for the dark. Linda felt it right at that moment to promptly slap Barry on the shoulder. 

"Sorry, sorry!" Began Barry, understanding that Linda was uncomfortable. "It's just, you sounded a lot like Felicity at that moment," 

"Who?" Linda asked. 

Barry waved her off. "Long story," he said.

There was a short silence, neither person knowing what to say. Linda wanted to say that she was a reporter and a long story was exactly what she always went looking for. But then again, she didn't really want to hear about Barry talking about some girl that she guessed he had a crush on. Now that she thought about it, Linda noticed Barry had crushes on lots of people. Finally, after finding an appropriate topic to speak about, Linda decided to break the silence.

"So, obviously we need to talk about my powers that you somehow know about," she started.

"Yeah. Obviously," Barry replied. "Just, wait here. I'll be back in like, 6 seconds," with that, Barry disappeared in a blur of yellow light. 

Tracks didn't even have time to bark in alarm, which had happened a lot that night Linda realized, when Barry was back. Except this time, he was wearing a green long sleeved sweater over a white nice shirt, and also jeans with his signature converse. Linda was surprised, still not grasping the fact that he was super fast. Blinking quickly, she said nothing even though she could think of a few responses. 

"I thought that since we were going to talk, it'd be better to walk around. And, you know, walking around with The Flash isn't something totally normal," Barry shrugged. 

Linda nodded dumbly, and started walking while Barry followed. 

"When did you get a dog?" Barry asked. 

Linda waved him off. "Long story," she teased. 

Barry chuckled. But then he frowned, and Linda knew that this was about to become a conversation that was much more serious than a simple catch up while walking in the park.

"So, Linda. I know you can bring people back from the dead," Barry said, getting back to the point. 

"I'm a freak, aren't I?" Linda sighed. 

"No! Don't think like that! You're a metahuman. A person affected by the particle accelerator, receiving powers. You, me, and so many others were affected. You aren't a freak," Barry explained. 

"The particle accelerator? That thing I was forced to attend because of my job?" Linda asked incredulously. Barry nodded gingerly. "That lowlife Wells did this to me?! God, I wish he had died instead of all of those people!" She screeched, and Tracks started barking again. 

"Yeah, about that," Barry interrupted hopelessly. "Harrison Wells is dead. And I need you to bring him back to life," 

Now that was something Linda didn't know how to respond to.


	5. Alive But Dead Inside

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay! I lost inspiration for a little while. In fact, I've been going through a really long period of writer's block for a few months, only being able to think of good ideas here and there and only for a short amount of time.
> 
> BUT I AM BACK!
> 
> Also, since this fanfiction is kind of AU, I've decided that Iris doesn't know about Barry being The Flash, but Eddie does. My reasoning is I wrote this before Iris found out in the show, and I wrote chapter two after Eddie found out. But since Eoabrd is dead, Eddie never got kidnapped and Iris wouldn't have a reason to know now. So yeah, that's all. Also, Eddie will not die in this!
> 
> Lastly, I suggest you listen to "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence while reading this.

Linda's mouth was opening and closing like a fish above water, her eyes wide. Harrison Wells was dead? Since when? How? 

"You want me to bring back Harrison Wells? How did he even die?! How did Central City not hear about this? This would've been the greatest tragic story in my career!" Linda exclaimed. 

Barry grimaced. This was going to be difficult to explain. "Listen, Harrison Wells isn't who you think he is. I'm not talking about the Wells that all of Central knows to be the infamous head of S.T.A.R. Labs whose machine blew up and killed 17 people. I'm talking about the Wells that died 15 years ago," Barry tried to explain, but so far he was off to a rocky start. 

"There's two of them?" Linda groaned. "I have to sit down," 

Linda went to sit on a bench nearby, lifting Tracks up into her lap. Barry sighed, sitting down next to her. He was trying not to get frustrated, but explaining this wasn't as easy as he had hoped. He hadn't exactly expected Linda to ask so many questions, which was a stupid assumption. After all, Linda was a reporter.

"Alright. First things first. Harrison Wells died the night he and Tess Morgan were in a car crash. A man named Eobard Thawne, my mother's murderer, caused the accident. He killed Tess Morgan, and stole the identity of the true Harrison Wells, killing him as well," Barry said slowly. "He has been pretending to be Wells for the past 15 years, training me and waiting for me to get faster. Fast enough to take him back to his own time. But now Thawne is dead too. He died due to an...accident during a battle between me and him," 

For a moment, Linda was thoughtfully silent. "His own time? What is that supposed to mean?" She finally asked skeptically. 

"Eobard Thawne is from the future. He went back in time to kill me when I was 11 years old, but I guess me from the future went back with him to stop that from happening. I saved myself, while Thawne ended up killing my mother. He had been stuck here ever since. But now he's dead. Thawne is dead, and it's all my fault," Barry finished, putting his head in his hands.

He sniffled, and Linda knew he was trying not to cry. She hugged him tightly, not caring that he probably didn't want pity. This wasn't even pity though. It was a friend comforting a friend. Barry hugged her back, and Tracks leapt off of her lap to avoid being sandwiched in between the two metahumans. 

"I'll help you," Linda whispered, and Barry pulled back. His expression was one of shock and relief. 

"You will?" He asked, and Linda nodded. 

Barry smiled brightly, and hugged Linda tightly again. Linda laughed, pulling away a few seconds later.

"Tomorrow though. I'm tired, it's like 10pm. Goodnight Mr. Allen, I will see to it that you pick me up at 9am sharp!" Linda teased, standing up from her seated position on the bench. Tracks wagged his tail eagerly. 

"Goodnight Ms. Park. You can count on me to be no earlier than 9:30," Barry teased back, and they both went their separate ways.

When Linda had turned around to leave, she felt a gust of wind behind her. Turning back, she saw that Barry was gone. She smiled. That was something she was going to have to get used to. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Barry's day off of work, he ran to S.T.A.R. Labs with more hope in his heart than he'd had in what felt like forever. Cisco and Caitlin were already there, of course. Cisco was at his computer while eating candy, and Caitlin was shuffling through random papers. At least, she had been. That was until Barry suddenly came to a halt, and the wind that always acknowledged his presence blew everything out of her hands. 

"Would it kill you to maybe, I don't know, slow down while in the hallway, instead of in here? I'm getting very fed up with your overly dramatic entrances! We get it, you're fast!" Caitlin growled in frustration. 

"Sorry Caitlin. I'll make it up to you, how about I pick them all up?" Barry offered, smiling brightly. 

"No! I'm sure you'll use your speed to do that too, and it'll ruin everything else even further," Caitlin huffed. Barry laughed genuinely. 

"What's got you in such a great mood?" Cisco asked. "Haven't seen you smile so wide in ages," 

"Linda said she'd help us," Barry answered happily. "I'm bringing her here in like, an hour," He continued, looking at his watch. 

"And why would she agree to raising the dead?" Caitlin asked incredulously, a frown on her face.

Oh. That. Barry hadn't exactly brought up what he was going to do to convince Linda. "I...um...told her I was The Flash?" Barry answered questioningly, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. 

Cisco's face went from happy to shocked and wide eyed. Caitlin's went from doubtful, to fuming. 

"You what?!" She shouted. "When did we discuss this? When did either of us tell you that you could do that? We are a team, Barry! And teams make group decisions, not idiotic singular ones that we discuss later!" Caitlin scolded. 'Here we go again,' Barry thought. He had had about enough with her putting down all of his ideas. 

"And what would you have done if we did discuss it, huh? What would you have said, if I asked you if I could tell Linda my identity? I bet you would've done what you've been doing all week, crushing my ideas! I'm sure you would've gone into another one of your stupid speeches about how secrets are meant to be hidden, and how my thoughts are hopeless! You are basically sucking the life out of all the happiness I have, and in case you haven't noticed lately, I don't have much to begin with!" Barry shouted back.

"Well I wouldn't be like that if you would make rational decisions! What is with you when it comes to bringing back the dead? All you've been talking about since we found out about your speed: saving your mom, going back in time to make sure she doesn't die, undoing what's already done! You can't save everybody, Barry! You aren't a miracle worker!" Caitlin wasn't going to let Barry have the last word it seemed. 

Barry drew back as if he'd been burned by Caitlin's words. Putting down his ideas stung, sure, but bringing up his mother? That was crossing the line. But if she had done it, he wasn't afraid to either. 

"Are you going to call me out on wanting to bring back a dead loved one? You're such a hypocrite! All you ever talked about was Ronnie, swearing that he wasn't dead, finding him, saving him! Hell, I know that if you had the ability to go back in time to stop him from going into the particle accelerator, you would do anything to make that happen! Everyone tried to convince you that Ronnie was dead, but you just wouldn't have it! But then he came back, and left you all over again. After that, you became the exact opposite of what you had been, all of a sudden you were completely against not accepting death!" Barry retorted. If Caitlin was going to dig her claws into still fresh wounds, so was he. 

Caitlin looked to be on the verge of tears, but she wasn't done yet. "But Ronnie never died! He was just missing for 14 months. Your mom and Dr. Wells have been dead for 15 godforsaken years! They're gone Barry! Dead, not coming back! Ever!" Caitlin screeched. 

"That's not true," Barry started. "Which is exactly what I've been telling you! Linda can bring back Dr. Wells. She can literally raise the dead!" 

"Well maybe I don't want her too!" Caitlin exclaimed. 

Silence. The only sound filling the dense air was Caitlin and Barry's harsh and angry breaths, and the whirring of the computers and lights. Caitlin's words made everything clear up for Barry. It wasn't that she thought his ideas were stupid, it was just that she didn't want him to succeed. She didn't _want_ Dr. Wells to come back. 

"What I'm trying to say, Barry," Caitlin said after taking an eerily calm breath. "Is that I don't think bringing back Dr. Wells will benefit anything, or anyone. It's not a good assumption to make," 

Barry laughed, but not the cheerful laugh that he'd only just got back. This laugh was bitter, deceiving, broken. "I've had a lot of people not believe in me, Caitlin. Friends, family, strangers, my whole life I've been drowning in a pool of people doubting what I think. One more non-believer won't kill me. I just didn't think it'd be you," and with that, Barry turned and walked off. 

Caitlin just stared at Barry's retreating form for a moment, then let out a frustrated yell through her teeth and walked away. Cisco had been completely forgotten about during their fight. He was completely focused on his computer screen, his face expressionless. But it was painfully obvious to anyone that he had been listening, he'd taken every word in. 

He just didn't know what to do with them. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was easy to depict Barry's emotions, regardless of his expression. He faked a smile all the time, his eyes were always bright. But people who knew him well enough could see how he really felt by looking at more than just his face. It was the way he walked that told Iris something was wrong. 

Barry walked into Central City's Picture News, her work place, with a bright smile on his face. But his steps were heavy, too heavy for someone like him. Barry usually walked lightly, quickly too, as if going too slow or stepping with too much force would cause the floor underneath him to break. When Barry was happy, it was as if he was walking on thin ice because he walked with so much care.

But when he was upset, or guilty, or angry, his steps were the exact opposite. His feet dragged along the ground, heavily and slowly. The carefulness in his steps was completely forgotten, too busy being replaced by whatever was bothering Barry at the moment. 

So when Barry stepped into the building, the wind from outside blowing in, Iris looked up to see who had entered. His sluggish movements hinted that his smile was extremely forced. So Iris shot up from her seat, her current assignment completely abandoned, because helping her best friend through a tough time was more important. 

"Hey Barry!" Iris greeted happily, but her brain was wracked with worry. She gave him a tight hug, knowing that he needed it. 

"Hey Iris," Barry replied, almost melting into her embrace. 

"What's wrong?" She asked, pulling back from the hug. 

Barry's smile didn't drop, but something flickered in his eyes. It was obvious that he knew he'd been caught. 

"Nothing important. I'm just here to see-" Barry was cut off. 

"Barry!" Linda called, walking over to them quickly, her stuff already cleaned up and in her bag. 

"Leaving early, Linda?" Iris inquired. 

"Yeah, I'm helping Barry with-" Linda paused when Barry cleared his throat. Then she stuttered out, "with, um.... Uh. We're going on a date!" 

Barry's jaw dropped. "We are? I mean, yeah! We are!" He smiled. 

"But just a friendly date," 

"Yeah, not a romantic one," 

"Cuz we aren't dating," 

"We're just friends. Going on a date," 

"That's friendly!" 

The two kept rambling on, being almost as awkward as Felicity. And Felicity was really, really awkward. 

"Okay..." Iris said, drawing out the 'kay'. "Have fun," 

Iris turned and went back to her seat, but she watched them exit her and Linda's workplace. They weren't super close together, weren't holding hands or anything. So Iris wasn't sure if they actually were going on a date, friendly or not. Barry still walked a bit slow, his footsteps still heavy, but not as much. They seemed to lighten up a bit as he walked off with Linda. 

So that left Iris with one question. What were they up to? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Cisco?" Barry called as he entered the cortex. 

Cisco came running in, pushing a metal table with something on it that was covered by a white sheet. "Yeah! Right here!" He answered. 

"Where's Caitlin?" Barry asked Cisco, who frowned. 

"She left. Said that she didn't want to have to be the one to say 'I told you so' when you fail," Cisco replied. 

Barry sighed. "Is that... Harrison?" He asked, gesturing with his eyes to the covered figure. Cisco nodded.

"Yep," Cisco said, uncovering the body. Linda internally gagged at the sight. 

The body was covered in dirt and mud, and the smell of rotting flesh became very noticeable once the sheet was moved. She could tell that the decayed body had been redressed into newer clothes, no doubt because the clothes that Harrison had been wearing when he died had probably worn away. Linda suddenly doubted her abilities. Sure, she'd brought the dead back before, but never when they were already decayed. 

"I don't think I'll be able to bring him back," Linda said, causing Barry and Cisco to look at her. "I mean, he's been dead for 15 years. What if I bring him back to life as a zombie?!" 

"Right," Cisco commented. "Didn't think about that," Barry rolled his eyes with a light smile on his face. 

"It'll be fine. You bring people back to life and heal their wounds, right? I'm pretty sure you'll be able to....do your healing thing here too," Barry assured Linda. 

Linda nodded, taking a calming breath. "Could you, uh, put the sheet back on? If I can bring him back to life, I don't want to see his skin regrow or whatever. I probably wouldn't be able to keep it together," Linda laughed awkwardly. 

Cisco nodded, pulling the white sheet back over Harrison. Clearing her throat, Linda gingerly placed her hands over the covered body, right where Harrison's chest would be. She closed her eyes, and light began coming from her hands. Barry and Cisco watched in awe, shifting from foot to foot in anxiousness. They weren't sure if this was going to work, but they hoped so. 

If this didn't work, Barry didn't know what he was going to do. He was only doing this because he thought that it was the best choice, and that this would make things right. But right with who? Who other than himself was he trying to save, really? Sure, by doing this, Harrison would be given a fair chance at life, so Barry supposed that he was doing this for him too. 

But in reality, Barry was drowning. He was drowning in his own pool of guilt and doubt, and no one could save him because they didn't know that he had fallen overboard. Nothing would be able to keep him from being completely submerged in the guilt (that he shouldn't be feeling) except this. He _needed_ Harrison to come back. Barry's sanity practically depended on it. Barry was brought back to reality at the sharp and sudden intake of breath from underneath the white sheet. Harrison Wells shot straight up, causing everyone to jump back. 

"Tess!"


	6. Hoping and Coping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO SO SO sorry that I haven't updated in so long. I made this chapter extra long to make up for it, and clearly my updates will be irregular from now on. This is obviously not season 2 canon compliant, but hey, I don't care. And it has already been established that the angst in this fic will be apparent, but the angst levels are just very high in this chapter. They will only get higher as the story progresses. And finally, I suggest you listen to the song "Hands of Time" by Rachel Diggs while reading this chapter.

No one moved. No one dared to breathe. Suddenly, the tension that was already in the room just got ten times thicker. Harrison seemed dazed for a moment, like his mind was trying to reconnect with his body. But then, like a switch had been flipped, the man burst into action. He tore the white sheet off of his torso, and practically flew across the cortex faster than even Barry could comprehend. But, time soon resumed for the rest of the inhabitants of the room, and they all broke out of their frozen states as well. Barry ran over to Harrison, who had been stumbling quickly over to the exit, and he grabbed the older man by the shoulder. 

"Dr. Wells-" Barry tried, but was immediately interrupted. 

"Where's Tess? Is she alright? Where is that-that man?!" Harrison rushed out, struggling against Barry's hold. 

Harrison's face was one of complete and utter horror, as well as panic and confusion. His stark blue eyes were rapidly moving around every inch of the cortex, like he was trying to take in everything all at once. One moment his eyes were focused on the ceiling, next they were tracing the walls, and then they were facing the floor. Never once did he look at Linda, nor Cisco, not even Barry. He was breathing deeply through his mouth, though the patterns were uneven. He was shaking, and looked about ready to collapse at any moment. 

"Dr. Wells, I need you to calm down!" Barry pleaded, fighting against Harrison who was trying to escape his hold. 

"Excuse me, uh...Mr. or Dr. Wells? If you could just listen-" Linda had walked over to help Barry, but her attempts were futile. 

"Dude, just chill. You've been through something awful-" Cisco tried as well, but to no avail. 

There seemed to be no getting through to Harrison Wells. 

But then, a voice shouted authoritatively over all of the chaos: "Harrison Wells!" And everyone, even Wells, came to an abrupt stop. 

It was Caitlin, standing by the door, her nails digging into her palms and arms shaking at her sides. Her expression was stoic yet professional, but unbridled fury just radiated off of her. No one had even heard her enter the labs because of the amount of screaming going on. Caitlin strode over to the group, and grabbed Harrison's forearm, dragging him over to a cot and forcefully pushing him down to sit upright. Wells seemed too shocked to resist. Caitlin motioned with her hand for Harrison to remove his shirt, and surprisingly he did so. She then began connecting several wires to Harrison: Heart monitor, IV, blood pressure cuff, the works. She flashed a light in his eyes as well. Harrison kept trying to ask questions as she worked, but Caitlin shushed him every time. Apparently she wasn't going to put up with interruptions. 

Caitlin turned to look at Cisco, and she raised her eyebrows expectantly. Cisco quickly got a clipboard and pencil, and he began writing down all of the information Caitlin was rambling off. "Heart rate 170, pulse 130 over 80, pupils equally dilated..." 

Linda was completely lost, she became a reporter not a doctor, and even Barry was having trouble keeping up. Caitlin was completely immersed in her work, checking the health of the newly revived Harrison Wells. No one was sure why Harrison listened to Caitlin and only her, even Harrison seemed confused by it. But once the check up was over, Caitlin stepped back and so did Cisco, and everyone braced themselves, preparing for Harrison to make a run for it. Except, he didn't move. He just sat there, hands gripping the edge of the bed, and eyes fixated on the reflective flooring. There was a restless moment of silence, where everyone seemed to be waiting, waiting, waiting for _something_ , but no one knew what. Finally, Harrison spoke. 

"My apologies. I...seemed to be lost for a little while there," he said slowly, not looking up from the ground. 

"That's alright, Dr. Wells. I'm Barry Allen, these are my friends: Cisco Ramon, Linda Park, and Dr. Caitlin Snow," Barry introduced, and gestured to everyone even though Harrison wasn't paying attention. He slowly approached the man. Harrison simply nodded, still not looking up to face anybody. 

"Dr. Wells, you were in an accident. Do you remember?" Linda asked. 

"Yes....I remember," Harrison replied, the last part a near inaudible whisper. "Where's Tess?" He asked, and for the first time, he made eye contact with someone in the room. That person being Caitlin. 

Caitlin's stony eyes seemed to soften a fraction at the question. And she took a deep breath through her nose before replying, "Tess Morgan passed away when you were both in a car crash on April 18th in the year 2000," 

"What year is it now?" Harrison asked, but his voice was softer now. 

"It's 2015, doctor," Caitlin responded. 

"She's been dead for 15 years?" Harrison muttered to himself, shaking his head. He looked down again. 

"Dr. Wells, could you tell us what happened the night you were in the accident?" Cisco inquired. 

"Tess and I, we were driving home from a day at the beach. But then, I lost control of the car and we flipped over. There was a man there, he-he let her die. He pulled me out of the car; threw me on the ground. I asked him what he wanted, and he said he needed me," Harrison seemed to get lost in his recollection of the memory. 

"Needed you for what?" Asked Barry. 

"My mind. Or, my ideas. Something about a particle accelerator and it failing. Or was it a success?" 

"Did the man ever tell you his name?" Cisco pressed. 

"Eobard Thawne. He said his name was Eobard Thawne. But he said his identity didn't matter, just who I was. And then he...killed me," Harrison stopped, then looked at everyone in the room, eyes clouded with confusion. "Eobard Thawne killed me," 

Cisco laughed awkwardly, scratching at the back of his head. "Yeah, about that....." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cisco, Caitlin, and Barry all explained to Harrison what had happened over the past fifteen years with Eobard Thawne. They told him about how Eobard pretended to be him, and how he built S.T.A.R. Labs and made a successful career only to intentionally have the particle accelerator explode and create metahumans around the city, including the Flash. Harrison got lost quite a few times, specifically on the parts about certain inventions that required technology that hadn't existed yet in the year 2000. They also explained what had happened after the particle accelerator explosion, all of the group's adventures, how Eobard faked being paralyzed, and how Eobard met his demise a week previously. No one went into too much detail when they spoke about Thawne's death. All Harrison knew was that he fell off of a cliff, and that Cisco and a man named Joe cremated the body. 

So that brings Harrison to the present, in the year of 2015 and somehow alive after having the life literally sucked out of him. He had asked for some air after that great amount of information that had been practically dropped on top of him, and they let him have his space after giving him a pair of glasses that were of his prescription. Apparently, Cisco had been prepared and had had real glasses ready hours before they brought him back to life. He was currently sitting on the stairs outside of S.T.A.R. Labs, however it was in the back because he had been told that the public couldn't just see Harrison Wells up and walking like he had never been paralyzed. Albeit, Eobard hadn't been either, but no one knew that except the small circle of people that was apparently nicknamed "Team Flash". The sun was starting to set, causing colors of all different shades to scatter the sky. Harrison recalled him and Tess being relaxed and not having a care in the world, just watching a beautiful sunset at the beach. He remembered it like it was yesterday. Really, for him, it had been. But for everyone else, 15 years had passed since that day.

"How does it feel to see another sunset after all this time?" A voice came from behind Harrison. 

He turned around, and saw Barry Allen walking towards him. Barry made a gesture, silently asking if he could sit next to him. Harrison nodded, and went back to watching the sky. 

"It feels like any other sunset, Barry. Nothing has changed for me. It feels as if no time has passed" Harrison responded. 

"Of course," Barry nodded once in understanding. "When I woke up from the coma, everyone expected me to feel different. As if I missed something. It was almost like they thought I had forgotten what it was like to watch something as insignificant as a sun setting for the night. But in my mind, I hadn't missed a thing," 

"To you, it just felt like any other day," Harrison replied, and Barry smiled softly. 

"But I knew I missed a lot," He finished. 

"Right, you were asleep for 9 months. And now you're the Flash, Central City's savior in red," Harrison commented with a chuckle. Barry noticed that his laugh sounded more sincere than Eobard's did. Harrison's was lighter and didn't seem as forced. 

The men fell into an easy silence, just watching the sun disappear and gathering their thoughts.

"When you first woke up, why did you only calm down when Caitlin spoke?" Barry suddenly asked. 

"Who's Caitlin again?" Harrison asked, not turning to look at Barry. 

"Dr. Snow," Barry reminded. 

Harrison smiled softly, and looked down at his hands. "Ah, she reminds me of Tess. Her straight-forward attitude and determinedness are two qualities that they both have in common. Well, _had_ , I guess I should say," a single tear ran down Harrison's cheek, but he made no attempt to wipe it away. "Why did you bring me back?" He asked, staring at Barry sadly.

Barry sighed and shuffled his feet. But he didn't answer right away. Harrison waited patiently. It wasn't until the sun was barely visible and the sky was illuminated with stars that Barry spoke again. "I felt guilty," he sighed. 

Harrison looked at him curiously. "I don't understand," 

"Eobard didn't fall off of the cliff. I killed him. Well, it feels like I did at least," Barry began. "We were fighting, and we had been for a long while. I was losing badly, pretty much seconds away from collapsing. But I had just enough energy to speed out of the way when Thawne ran towards me that final time. He didn't realize it until it was too late, and down he went," Barry's voice was thick with emotion. "For so long, it feels like I have been stuck following this downward spiral, like I'm neck deep in guilt but can't cry out for help. I know I shouldn't be dwelling on this so much, because it's never a good thing to focus so intently on what's already passed. But I can't help it. I can't shake this feeling of self-hatred whenever I look at myself in the mirror," Barry finished, and he took a deep breath.

"That's called remorse, Barry. It means you're human," Harrison commented. Barry chuckled dryly. "I do know how you feel, though. Even though people have told you otherwise, you can't help but tell yourself that what happened was caused by you. That there's something you could have done differently to avoid the situation," Barry knew that Harrison was talking about the car crash, as well as Tess's death. But he didn't comment. "It isn't your fault though," Harrison said.

"Yeah, so I've been told," Barry replied bitterly. 

"It's true. Now, I'm still having trouble with convincing myself that I should let go of the guilt on my mind due to Tess's death. But I know for a fact that Eobard's death isn't something you should stress about," Harrison was staring at Barry, and there was so much sincerity and understanding in his expression, and Barry found himself picking out the differences between Harrison and Eobard as Harrison.

Eobard always had a cool and steely expression. He always sat up perfectly straight and would never show anything that he didn't want someone to see. Harrison had raw emotion in his eyes, and said emotions were out in the open for everyone to see, and he didn't seem to mind. He also had a more relaxed posture, slightly slouching but not so much so that he looked like a bum. Barry found it very easy to differentiate Harrison and Eobard pretending to be Harrison, even though their faces had been exactly the same. Because even though it had always been Harrison's face that Eobard was wearing, it hadn't been. Not really. 

"I'm glad you're alive again, Harrison," Barry started. Harrison had asked them not to call him Dr. Wells, for it sounded too formal. "You deserve a second chance at life, and so does everyone else that Eobard has killed. But the guilt is really the biggest reason why I wanted to bring you back. I wish it hadn't been, but it was. It still is," Barry sighed, and broke eye contact with Harrison for a moment. Then he looked up again and said hopefully, "But now you're back. So everything will be okay!" He seemed to be trying to convince himself more than anything.

"I'm sorry to say this but, this isn't the rainbow after the storm, Barry," Harrison responded lowly. "This is the calm before it."


	7. Can't Sleep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty short, sorry about that. Also, HAPPY BELATED NEW YEAR! I suggest you listen to the song "Breathe In, Breathe Out" by Set It Off while reading this chapter.

_When the ringing in his ears quieted down to an incessant hum, after his eyes focused as much as they could without his glasses, as he tried to get Tess to become more coherent, he heard it. Footsteps. Confident, purposeful steps that didn't bother with the broken bits of glass scattered around, even as they crunched under this unknown person's feet. He saw the shoes next, they were sleek and black and probably expensive. He had thought they belonged to someone who was there to help._

_"Oh thank god, thank god!" He said in between erratic breaths that he was trying to calm. The wearer of the shoes crouched down to look at him and Tess, and he saw that it was a blonde man with blue eyes. Said eyes didn't reveal anything about the man, but Harrison wasn't in any way a relaxed enough state to study him in the first place._

_"Help us please, she's- she's-" His voice trailed off when he realized the man wasn't even trying to aid him or Tess. He was just, staring. As if Tess wasn't slowly dying, like they hadn't just been in a terrible car wreck. "What-what are you doing? Call someone, call anyone, can't you see she's dying!" He cried, his panic rising._

_The blonde man didn't outwardly react, just continued to look at him and Tess with a calm and collected expression. "This woman has been dead for centuries," he said in monotone. It was then that he realized that this man wasn't here to help. No, he obviously had a darker ulterior motive. The blonde man stood up, and began walking away._

_There was nothing he could do. He was stuck just as much as Tess was, though not as injured. His desperate screams for help echoed in his ears, not doing a thing._

Harrison's eyes opened, and they darted around the pitch black room aimlessly. He was sweating, and he'd kicked off all of the blankets covering him while he was sleeping. His breathing was uneven, much like it had been in his dream. Except it wasn't a dream, not even close. Without bothering to turn on the light, Harrison sat up, putting his head in his hands as he rested his elbows on his knees. He exhaled shakily, shutting his eyes. Not that it mattered, the room was too dark to see anything anyway. 

It was his second week of being back from the dead, and he hadn't left his house. No, not his house. Eobard's house. Dr. Snow had driven him here the day after he first woke up, he had to stay at S.T.A.R. Labs the first night so Caitlin could monitor his vitals. When he got here, everything anyone would need seemed to already be there. Food, water, keys to the house, clean clothes, etcetera. He was very grateful for everything, but hadn't left the house to thank his new acquaintances. The house was huge. Tess would have had a field day if she had seen the size, she'd always loved architecture. Harrison stood up then with a sigh, and found his way to the door by feeling his way around. When he exited the bedroom and went down the hall, finally finding his way to the sitting room, he had to adjust to the bright moonlight shining in through the many windows. He sat on the couch, lying outstretched on the furniture and resting the back of his head on one of the sofa's arms. His bed felt too suffocating to fall back asleep in, he would probably fall asleep on the couch. Again. This had been the routine for the last two weeks, and Harrison wasn't sure when or if it was going to change. 

The images of that night played through his mind on an involuntary loop, all in perfect detail. Funny how he could never remember where he left his glasses, but he always remembered that man. His cold eyes and emotionless voice. _This woman has been dead for centuries..._

Harrison shivered, looking around the room. He didn't understand how Eobard had handled living in such a large area, all alone, and being able to call it home. Why didn't he get a smaller house, a more homey, less creepy, not as extensive living space? And there were no curtains anywhere! So many windows, and no curtains. What did that man have against curtains? Everything was sleek looking and shiny, there was a gigantic fireplace that he had yet to light, glass decor everywhere, and the main theme were the colors black, and light gray. The only attribute he could think of to describe the house was "impersonal". There were no photos of family or pets or friends, just one ugly painting above the television that Harrison didn't understand. There were no magazines on the coffee table nor were there any nic-nacks or decorations that indicated any feeling of welcome. No flowers, none of those canvases that read positive quotes like the the ones Tess had always wanted to buy. Nothing. 

Eobard's house was lonely, boring, and too massive for just one man. Harrison hated it. But he was stuck here, all by himself, left to his thoughts and nightmares. He took a deep breath, but his chest still felt like there was a heavy weight on it. He stared at the ceiling until the early hours of the morning came around, thinking about that night until he fell asleep once again from exhaustion. 

_He felt as if he was being hollowed out, like the life was being drained from his body. Someone was screaming, and it was probably coming from him. He never had time to find out though, because that was when it all went dark._


	8. Too Much Too Fast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was partially inspired by season 2 episode 5 "The Darkness and the Light" when it comes to Linda's powers. But there's one scene later on that I planned way before season 2 even aired. I am a psychic. The song to listen to while reading this chapter is "No Control" by Set It Off. Enjoy!

Harrison started awake to a mechanical shrieking. He blinked the sleep from his eyes, but still had to wince at the harsh sunlight filling the living room. Again, _curtains_. Looking around, trying to find the source of the noise, Harrison could vaguely see a glowing square on the kitchen counter from the angle that he was sitting at. His glasses were somewhere in the room he slept in, it was _not_ his room, so everything was a blur of undefined shapes and boring colors. 

Harrison knew what the glowing square was, a cell phone. The man with the long hair gave it to him, Cisco Ramon, he recalled. He stood up, trying to rub the knot out of his neck due to his previous position on the sofa, and slowly walked over to the electronic device. It was thin and shiny, and very touch sensitive. Extremely different from the flip phone he had used in 2000. Cisco had been appalled when he'd mentioned it to him. This phone had a lot of little icons on the screen, half of which Harrison didn't see the use in. Cisco had called it an "eye phone", which he didn't exactly understand. It wasn't like he put the phone to his eye when he spoke to people. Not like he spoke to people with it. No one had contacted him since he had been dropped off here, at this big and lonely house. This was the first time he had even cast the phone a second glance after leaving it carelessly on the counter that first day. 

Picking up the cell, and lightly tapping the green phone symbol that meant answer (that's something about cellular devices that hadn't changed over the years), Harrison brought it to his ear with some hesitation. He didn't know why he was nervous, though. For a few seconds, there was only tentative breathing on both ends of the line. Harrison finally broke the streak though, once the uneven quiet became more awkward than uncertain. 

"Hello?" He asked, and almost instantly a rush of words came from the person on the other side.

"Oh hey! It's Cisco here, but you should already know that because I gave you the phone pre-programmed with all our numbers and contacts." Harrison backtracked and pulled the phone away from his ear to look at the screen. Sure enough, there was the name 'Cisco Ramon' in glowing white letters. 

"Yeah, I know." Harrison replied softly, although he was unsure as to why his voice couldn't go above more than a whisper. "D-do you need something?" And he was stuttering! He had never stuttered in his life!

It was Cisco's turn to have some word troubles. "Uh, no? Well, sort of. I was wondering if you wanted to come to S.T.A.R. Labs. Maybe get a feel of how we work, what it's like to help a superhero?" 

Harrison paused in thought. "I don't see why not," he finally said. "Except..."

"Except, what?" Cisco coaxed, and Harrison could practically see him tugging on a hair strand in anxiety. Why was everyone, including himself, so tense today? 

"I don't have a car, and I don't know where S.T.A.R. Labs is." He said.

"Oh, no problem! I was planning on picking you up in one of the company vans! I'm actually already on my way..." Cisco chuckled half heartedly. 

It was then that Harrison noticed the background hum of cars on a road. He raised an eyebrow even though Cisco couldn't see it. "You were that confident, huh?" He asked. 

"Yep!" Cisco answered. "I'm about 15 minutes out, and traffic isn't too light. Give me about a half hour." 

Harrison's mouth quirked in something like a smile, but not quite. "I'll see you then, Cisco." He then hung up, and if he had waited maybe two seconds longer, he would have been able to hear the catch of breath in Cisco's voice. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Cisco finally arrived to pick him up from the house, Harrison didn't believe the place would ever really be his, Harrison was standing outside the door all ready to go. The phone he had been given was in his back pocket only because he was told to carry it around, but otherwise he wasn't bringing anything but the clothes on his back. Cisco was surprised, actually, to see Dr. Wells _I prefer Harrison_ wearing something other than a black sweater and slacks. Instead, he was wearing a light gray button up and dark blue jeans. Cisco hadn't even known that Wells had different colored clothing in his wardrobe. The glasses Cisco had given him were different as well. The ones that Thawne used to wear were black frames and also _not real_ , but these ones had clear plastic rims. Not to mention they had actual prescription lenses.

The car ride was silent. Cisco wanted to start a conversation, but had no idea what to say. Harrison's parting words when they had been on the phone earlier had thrown him off guard. They reminded him of how Eobard used to speak to him, and for some reason this left him on edge. But that wasn't all that contributed to the lack of conversation. Cisco didn't know what this man liked, he had only known Thawne's version. For all he knew, this Harrison could watch cartoons and have the favorite color of purple. So no one spoke, and the travel back to the Labs seemed to take twice as long. 

When they finally pulled into the garage after what felt like hours of wordless driving, Harrison began to climb out of the van when Cisco stopped him for a moment. "You're going to have to start using the mechanical wheelchair in public from now on. We all know you can walk, but the people of this city probably wouldn't take well to finding out that the man who blew up the city faked his paralysis." He commented. 

Harrison nodded once in agreement, then exited the vehicle and headed towards the door. They both entered the cortex, and were greeted by the faces of Caitlin and Linda sitting at the computers. Both women smiled their hellos. 

"Where's Barry?" Cisco asked. 

"He's chasing down a couple of escaped convicts who were receiving trial at the courthouse." Caitlin replied simply, as if this was a normal occurrence. Harrison realized that they'd probably experienced much stranger things. 

Linda got up and Cisco took her place at one of the computers, beginning to explain to Barry through a speaker on the desk where the criminals were headed. Harrison watched on from where he was leaning against the wall across the room. Linda curiously looked at him from the corner of her eye as she sat on the desk. 

Barry's panicked voice came from the speaker. "Guys, they just entered a super busy street. How do I get them without causing several accidents?!" He called. 

Caitlin shrugged helplessly, staring at Cisco as the man stammered. Linda was silent. "Guys?!" Barry asked, voice raising an octave. 

Harrison strode over to the desk, walking around to stand between Cisco and Caitlin as he braced his hands on the table and leaned over the speaker to say, "Listen, Barry. You don't know me, and I don't know you. I have very minimal knowledge on how your powers work. But here is what you have to do. You can't just take them out of the car and abandon the vehicle, that'll cause everyone behind them to slam on their brakes and will most likely cause a mass collision. So you need to become the driver. Use your speed to put the one driving into the back seat and take the wheel yourself. Then pull into an alley or a safe area to stop." 

He heard Barry inhale deeply before replying, "Okay, got it." And there was a rush of air and a series of confused grunts from the two fugitives he was chasing. 

"There's an alley just to your left, Barry." Cisco informed. 

"Time to take a detour, boys!" Barry laughed, followed by a squeal of tires. 

"The police are just pulling up. I'm on my way back." The speedster told them all. 

"Yeah boy!" Cisco cheered. He high-fived Linda and Caitlin, and Harrison straightened with a relieved look on his face. Caitlin looked up at him and smiled thankfully. He nodded. 

The rejoicing group came to a halt at the unmistakeable sound of a gun cocking. Everyone froze, and turned around towards the entrance of the cortex to see who the intruder might be. Harrison was the only one who didn't move. 

"Put your hands up, and slowly turn to face me." Came Joe West's serious voice. 

Harrison obeyed, locking his jaw and steeling his features. "Officer, I think you have me mistaken for someone else-" 

"I didn't say you could talk." Joe interrupted, tightening his grip on his weapon. 

"Joe, put the gun down." Caitlin tried softly. 

"No, Caitlin! Do you not recall what this man has done to you? To all of us?! And how are you still alive? I saw your body, your very dead body!" Joe exclaimed. It was then that Barry returned. 

There was a flash of yellow lightning, and suddenly the gun in Joe's hand was in Barry's grip instead, all the way across the room. Barry was wearing a shocked and confused expression. "Joe, what are you doing?!" He shouted, his tone angry. 

Joe looked at his son with furrowed brows and harsh eyes. "What am I doing? What is he doing! He was supposed to be dead!" Joe yelled. 

"Breaking news: I'm not! Live at 11!" Harrison called, waving his arms sarcastically in the air. 

This made Joe all the more enraged, and he started advancing towards the other man. Cisco and Barry pushed against him, trying to stop the detective from beating Wells to a pulp. 

"Okay, okay, everyone just calm down." Linda tried, trying to project her voice without yelling. It wasn't working too well. 

Barry and Cisco were quickly losing the fight against an angry Joe, Harrison was carefully making his way around the desk and out of the cortex, and Caitlin was attempting to keep Harrison in place. It was chaos. No one could hear above the screaming, and because all the occupants in the room were trying to yell over each other, the noise level just kept increasing. Linda was at a loss. She had no idea how to get everyone back down to a calm and functional state without– 

It suddenly clicked with her. Whenever she used her powers, everyone's attention became drawn to the light that came out of her hands. If she could just make a large enough burst of energy, then everyone would be momentarily blinded and would get distracted. However, she had never used her powers without the target to heal a physical wound before. But Linda decided that now was as good a time as any to try, right? 

Right. She was going to do this, she _could_ do this. Linda took a breath, clenched her fists, and focused all her power into creating a magnificent blast of light to fill the room for a few seconds. She closed her eyes, and with one last wordless cry of encouragement, she swung both arms downward and flattened her palms as her hands slammed onto the ground. Blinding white energy shot from her hands and illuminated the entire cortex to the point that no one could see even their own hand in front of their faces. 

All sound came to a jarring pause, white noise encasing the room. When the light faded from behind her eyelids, Linda opened her eyes to look around. She carefully stood up from the spot where she was crouching on the floor, and saw how all other occupants in the room were blinking rapidly. Once everyone came back to their senses, they settled their gazes onto a now sheepish Linda. Said woman hugged herself in sudden bashfulness. She shrugged. 

"You're welcome?"


End file.
